WWII Warbird Secret Weapon Dogfight

An epic battle is underway.  The challenge: lie, cheat, steal to gain the upper hand... 

Each of these gorgeous warbirds is hiding something.

Each of these WWII classics has a secret they aren't sharing.  In the art and science of aerial combat, there is an unwritten rule: he who wins writes history.  None of these wicked bastards is about to go down easy.  If you aren't cheating you aren't trying--this is about climbing on top of the other two aircraft and beating your chest in victory.

The lineup:

Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Secretly packing a high C rate 4S 2500 mAh under it's slightly modified battery compartment hood (cut 1/4" foam from the rear underside), the Forked Tail Devil tracks arrow-straight at any power setting.  The twin motors pull so hard, one dislodged the two engine mount anchor bolts, requiring a re-glue of the plywood firewall to the foam.  Now with counter-rotating 9x7x3s that spin at a higher RPM than the stock co-rotating 9.5" props, a decrease in prop diameter and increase in prop pitch raises top speed.  One screamin' demon, this P-38 is ready to rumble.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX

Now with clipped wings that are true to period, my Spit is more slippery than ever near the top end.  Roll rate is tremendously improved, just the ticket that made the original wing clip design attractive.  A tight battery compartment is barely large enough to wedge a chunky 4 cell 2200 mAH inside the fuselage, but I've managed to push one just far enough forward to keep the CG in check.  This comes at the expense of cooling airflow from the open radiator, from which air is unable to pass through the tight battery fit--but this is war, not history class, suck it up!  I'll reshape the rudder later.

Focke Wulf Fw-190

The butcher doesn't bring it weak.  The stock 4S-capable motor required a new ESC due to a manufacturer-defect resulting in a 3-cell ESC fire.  In retrospect that was a good thing, because 4S has already secretly proliferated to the competition.  Now turning a 4S 2200 mAh battery to keep the wing loading as light as possible, this point defender runs the enemy down like a propaganda-crazed Nazi women scorned.  The engine mount had to be stabilized with expanding Gorilla Glue to keep the higher RPM from shaking it loose.  A 10x8x4-blade prop turns serious torque into serious pull.  The SS Fw-190 just might pack enough punch to win this unfair battle.

Ultimate Warbird Dogfight
Category	Mk IX	P-38	Fw-190
Stats
Wingspan	43.2" (38")	55.0"	44.5"
Modifications
Design	Clipped Wings	Counter-Rotation	4-Blade Prop
Propeller	9.5x7.5	9x7x3x2	10x8x4
Power System (**est)	.15	2 x 480**	.10**
LiPo Cells	4S	4S	4S
Expanded Scoring
Ground views	9	10	10
Aerial Views	10	10	8
Wing Loading	6	9	7
Tracking	8	9	8
Roll Rate	10	8	7
Aerobatic Quality	8	9	8
Min Turn Radius	8	8	9
Acceleration	10	9	8
Speed	9	8	7
Agility	8	9	9
Personality	10	10	10
Intimidation	8	8	10
Fly-by Impact	9	10	8
Features	7	8	9
Quality	4	3	3
Durability	4	4	4
Value	3	7	5
Overall	7.7	8.2	7.6